No. 8 Xavier bounces back with 95-82 win over Georgetown

Updated Jan. 21, 2023 2:25 p.m. ET

CINCINNATI (AP) — Zach Freemantle tied a career-high with 30 points and Colby Jones had 20 as No. 8 Xavier handed Georgetown its 29th straight Big East loss, 95-82, on Saturday.

Adam Kunkel scored 14 points to help the Musketeers (16-4, 8-1 Big East) bounce back from a 73-72 loss at DePaul on Wednesday, which snapped an 11-game winning streak.

Primo Spears scored a career-high 37 points and Akok Akok had 14 for the Hoyas (5-15, 0-9 Big East), who have lost 10 straight games. Spears' previous high was 34 against LaSalle on March 5, 2022.

Georgetown went on an 11-0 run in the first half to tie the score 24-24, but the Musketeers responded with a 9-0 run to regain control.

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Spears scored 17 points in the first half to keep the Hoyas close. Xavier led 45-39 at halftime.

Freemantle's 3-pointer gave the Musketeers their largest lead of the game, 76-64, with 9:11 left.

Freemantle also scored 30 points vs. UConn on Feb. 13, 2021.

Xavier, which averages 83.5 points, scored 90 or more points for the sixth time this season.

BIG PICTURE:

Georgetown: The Hoyas' program continues to struggle under legendary former player Patrick Ewing, who is 73-99 since becoming head coach in 2017. Ewing's contract runs through this season. Georgetown’s last regular-season Big East win came on March 2, 2021, at home against Xavier.

Xavier: The Musketeers lead the nation in assists per game at 20.6, but had only 13 in the loss at DePaul, its second-lowest total of the season behind nine in a loss to Duke on Nov. 25. On Saturday, they dished out a season-high 31 assists.

UP NEXT

Georgetown: Hosts DePaul on Tuesday.

Xavier: Plays at No. 15 UConn on Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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